


Not Yours to Watch

by vivilove



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Feelings Realization, Post-Series, Rage Kitten, Voyeurism, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 15:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11786301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivilove/pseuds/vivilove
Summary: Jon happens upon Sansa bathing in the godswood and comes to realize the true nature of his feelings for her.  He's afraid to act though until he catches someone else watching her.





	Not Yours to Watch

**Author's Note:**

> I did this for the photo prompt game started by @jonsa-creatives on Tumblr and thought I'd share it here. I'm @vivilove-jonsa on Tumblr if you ever want to say hello there :)

The spring morning was the warmest Jon had known so far. He left the castle behind and headed to the godswood seeking the Lady of Winterfell. His fair cousin had broken her fast alone for a change and Brienne had said he might find her there.

Sansa often sought the peace of the godswood since they had reclaimed their home. And now that spring had returned and the war was over, Jon normally joined her there. She did not seem to mind his brooding company in the quiet beside the ancient Weirwood. In fact, Sansa often brought out the smiles that he struggled with in the company of others.

Jon passed Lord Baelish in the courtyard and grumbled under his breath. The man started to speak to him, to ask him if he’d seen Sansa this morning but Jon hurriedly brushed him off with a grunt. He did not like him and did not like that he was still here but they had not managed to run him off yet.

He entered the ancient wood and felt a sense of ease and wonder wash over him. This was a Stark place and though he was only half a Stark, it was part of him and his place, too.

He was nearly to the hot spring by the heart tree when he heard the sound of splashing and a woman’s soft laughter. Perhaps Sansa was not there alone…but who would be with her? And, why would there be splashing?

Jon crept more quietly towards the pool when he saw Ghost raise his head from the water’s edge and look his way, his ears perking up and his red eyes glowing.

His own eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw her. Beautiful Sansa, apparently wearing nothing but a thin shift in the water. She stood in the water and beckoned Ghost to join her but his direwolf snorted and whined from the bank.

“Coward,” she teased as she stood and splashed water his way again.

Her shift was stuck to her curves like another skin and Jon could see everything through it. Her red hair was plastered against her neck and shoulders. Her back was to him and her rounded bottom was perfectly outlined by her shift.

He darted behind the nearest tree, his cheeks flaming. He felt more like a green boy spying on a maid than a king happening upon his cousin’s moment of solitude.

 _Go back the way you came. She’ll be mortified is she knows you’re here_.

He did not leave though…not right away. He peeked around the tree and stifled a gasp when he saw she had turned his direction. Her firm teats and darker nipples were visible through the shift and between her legs Jon would swear he could make out the patch of red hair that covered her sex.

He ducked behind the tree once more and closed his eyes. He groaned involuntarily as he felt his cock stir with interest.

_Gods…stop looking. Go back now._

He heard the padding of footsteps growing closer.

“Ghost!” Sansa called. “Where are you going? Jon would want you to watch over me.”

It was true. He had told Ghost to watch over her whenever he was not there.  Leaving her during the war had been so hard.  He could barely breathe at the thoughts of her coming to any harm.  But now his old friend was about to expose him.

“No, Ghost,” he hissed under his breath. He swatted his hand towards wolf. “Go on. Go back to her,” he begged.

Ghost’s head tilted to the side, observing him but he seemed to understand at last. He turned and trotted back to Sansa.

Jon could hear her girlish giggles ringing in his ears and more splashing. He took the opportunity to turn and flee. The sound of her laughter and the sight of her nearly naked form haunted him the rest of the day and all night.

 

* * *

 

 

A fortnight had passed since Jon had happened upon his lovely cousin bathing in the godswood. And since then, life had been a torment to him.

He had known her to be beautiful long before that day. He had known that he loved and cared for her, that he was extremely protective of her as well. He had threatened more than one man on her behalf. What cousin who still considered himself her brother in a way wouldn’t do the same? Perhaps he became a bit extreme in his reactions at times. But then he could always tell himself it was because Sansa had suffered so much. She needed protecting he told himself…even if she claimed she didn’t.

Now though, Jon realized that the way he felt for her went beyond the blood bond of a loving cousin and beyond the bond of what he felt for her when he’d thought of her as a sister. His feelings for her were those of a lover. They'd been creeping up on him subtly without his knowledge for a long time now.  He had lived in denial as long as he could but he could not lie to himself any longer.  He wanted her.  He wanted to be her lover.  He loved her.  He wanted to be her husband. Gods, he wanted that.

For a fortnight, Jon avoided the godswood though, too afraid of saying anything that might jeopardize the happy partnership that they enjoyed as the King in the North and the Lady of Winterfell.

It was hard enough in the Great Hall, in his solar or in the yard to pretend he felt nothing but cousinly affection for her.

But something about the godswood…the heart tree…well, a man could not lie before the heart tree and Jon feared all his feelings would come spilling from his lips if he met her there now.

Unfortunately, Sansa seemed to spend more and more time there. He missed her company. He missed her.

As the days passed, Jon could not bear it any longer. He could no longer hide what he felt. He worried that he might hurt her or offend her if she knew how he desired her but he couldn’t hide away from her and his feelings forever.

Another warm morning dawned and Sansa was absent from the hall when Jon came down to break his fast with her.

“I think she’s in the godswood, Your Grace,” Brienne said when he inquired after her.

Jon hurried from the keep, eager to seek her out, burning with the need to unburden his heart and soul even if she chose to spurn him. He didn’t even pause to consider how inappropriate it might be to approach her there until he was halfway across the courtyard.

_What are you planning to do? Declare your feelings for her while she’s at a disadvantage, nearly naked in the pool while you stand there leering at her?_

He couldn’t do that. He paused outside the stables and saw Ghost chewing on a large haunch of venison. It looked as though the butcher had prepared if for him though Jon was not sure why. Ghost usually found his own meals away from the castle.

“What’ve you got there, boy?” he asked.

The direwolf raised his head for the briefest of moments before he returned to his meat.

“Lord Baelish has a man bring choice cuts for your wolf, milord,” the butcher’s boy said. “Says he wants to make friends with him.” The boy winked conspiratorially at Jon and whispered, “I think he’s afraid of him.”

“He should be,” Jon answered as an uncomfortable sense of worry began to uncoil in his belly.

 _She’s alone then_.

Jon looked back at Ghost.

“How long has Lord Baelish been making these offerings?”

“Nearly a fortnight, Yer Grace.”

Jon thanked the lad and headed straight towards the godswood, no longer concerned about anything but her safety.

_I’m probably worrying for nothing. She’s likely just sitting there beneath the tree. If so perhaps she will not mind my company…and perhaps I can tell her how I feel. And if she’s bathing, I’ll apologize and retreat._

He entered the silent wood but the sense of ease he often felt there did not come to him now. Generations of leaves covered the floor of the godswood silencing his footfalls. In the distance, he could hear soft laughter and splashing again. He hesitated for just a moment. He could just turn around but a feeling of dread made him continue on.

_I will only check that she’s alright and then leave before she even knows I’m there. She deserves her privacy and time alone. I will not intrude._

But she was not alone.

Crouched behind the tree where Jon had watched in fascination and shame a fortnight ago stood Petyr Baelish. He was watching Sansa splash in the pool…and she was not aware of it.

A spark of rage ignited in Jon’s breast and consumed him in the blink of an eye. No rational thought could pierce the fog of hate Jon felt for this man. He already loathed him for the role he’d played in Sansa’s misfortunes and abuse. But now, a beast born of wrath was awakened as he watched Baelish watch her bathe without her knowledge or consent.

A strangled yelp was all that Baelish got out as Jon pinned him bodily against the tree by his throat. He squeezed and squeezed as he bore holes into Baelish with his eyes. Baelish’s eyes were wide with fright and he made a sickening sound, a gurgling, choking sound. Jon’s hand only tightened on his throat.

“She’s not yours to look at,” he growled.  "She's not yours to watch."

Baelish was struggling to free himself, his hands were clawing at Jon’s. But as the seconds ticked by, he was weakening. He was dying.

“Jon!” Sansa cried from behind him.

He didn’t want to stop. He kept his eyes focused on the older man. He reveled in watching those eyes start to dim.

 _I will kill him. It’s no more than he deserves. She’s not yours to watch_.

But a soft and tentative touch at his elbow, a whisper of his name tickling his ear was all it took. The beast bowed its head and Jon released the man before him.

Baelish fell to his knees, gasping desperately for air and clutching his throat.

Jon was breathing heavily and fighting to regain his composure. He turned to find her behind him, her blue eyes full of concern and shock. She was still wet from her bathing and her shift was clinging to her body like before.

Jon yanked off his cloak and draped it protectively around her shoulders.

“Was he…was he watching me?” she asked, visibly shaken by the thought.

“He was,” he grunted. _But then so did I_.

Sansa looked down at the man on the ground with disdain. Her lips formed a thin line and her eyes narrowed with hate. She took a step forward, clasping Jon’s cloak securely around her body with one hand before she slapped Baelish hard across the face with her other. She immediately winced at the rough contact though and cradled her hand. Jon took her soft hand in his own and kissed it.

“I’m fine,” she huffed.

“I know you are,” he said and she smiled at him. Jon looked back at Baelish and rasped out a warning, “Ride south. Leave before sunset. You are no longer welcome here.” He edged closer and growled, “If I ever lay eyes on you again, I will kill you.”

Sansa tugged at his hand and they walked back over to the water’s edge so she could gather her clothes.

“Thank you, Jon,” she said as they headed back to the keep.

Guilt gnawed at Jon’s belly and he looked down at his feet. “You shouldn’t thank me,” he muttered. “I…I’m no better than him. I watched you…bathing. I knew I shouldn’t but I did anyway.”

“When?” she asked.

“About a fortnight ago. Sansa, I…I think my feelings for you are…well, I don’t just think of you as a cousin anymore.”

“How do you know it’s not just lust, Jon?” she asked.

“It’s not. I’m ashamed to admit that seeing you nearly naked in the godswood pool was what it took for me to realize it but the feelings were there already.”

He scratched nervously at his beard and waited for her to slap him as she had Baelish…or perhaps just break his heart in two when she said she did not feel the same.

“Truly?”

“Yes, truly. It might have taken me a while to realize it but my feelings are sincere…and my heart is yours.”

“Oh?” she said as a sweet smile sprang to her lips. “Well, I was wondering how long I’d have to keep bathing there each morning until you figured it out.”

**Author's Note:**

> And before anyone says it...yes, I would've liked to have Jon go ahead and kill LF too but decided not to go there this time.


End file.
